Google Under Pressure: Its Own AI Is Slowing Search Advertising

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Google Under Pressure: Its Own AI Is Slowing Search Advertising.

12 percent – that is how much Google’s search-related advertising revenue grew in the third quarter. Le Monde reports. A quarter earlier, growth was 17 percent, and in the first quarter it was even 19 percent. Growth is therefore slowing for the first time in the sequence of quarters mentioned. At first, this may sound like a normal fluctuation? Here is the interesting part: Google is being affected by the AI revolution that the company itself has driven forward.

For you, this means: Search remains an important business, but its previous growth engine is losing momentum. Anyone following the development of AI can see a concrete point at which Google’s own technological transformation is colliding with expectations for its core business.

The decisive figure comes from advertising around search queries. The growth rate has been declining since the first quarter of 2026: from 19 percent to 17 percent, and then to 12 percent. Le Monde thus provides an indication of whether Google’s own AI development is weakening its existing business.

Why the figures matter for Google

Much of Google revolves around search queries and the advertising placed around those searches. According to Le Monde, this revenue component grew by just 12 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous year. The figures in the preceding quarters were higher.

The development is therefore clear: Growth remains positive, but is losing momentum. This is particularly striking for a company like Google because AI development is not coming from outside; it is part of the company’s own business model. The company set the revolution in motion, and it has now reached its previous areas of growth.

What the figures say about its own AI

The report does not provide a ready-made explanation for the slowdown. But it shows where the current turning point lies: Search and the advertising associated with it are still growing, just not at the pace of the first months of the year.

For a sober assessment, this means: Google does not automatically lose its core business. According to the figures cited, the search business is still growing. What is changing is the growth rate. This makes its own AI a risk to the previous revenue logic – while also serving as an example of how difficult it can be for large technology companies to slow themselves down.

What You Can Take Away from the Report

The key message can be summarized in three points:

• Growth remains positive: Google’s search-related advertising revenue rose by 12 percent in the third quarter.
• The gap is widening: Previously, growth was 17 percent, and in the first quarter it was even 19 percent.
• AI is not just an external competitive factor: It is a development that Google itself has driven forward and with which the company could weaken its search revenues.

The report does not name any further consequences for shareholders, advertisers, or users. For now, only the slowdown in search-related advertising – and the fact that it is occurring during a phase in which Google is driving AI forward itself – is firmly established.